Windows 8 Pro With Media Center Build 9200 Activation Key
Christel Malden
I have a seven year old Dell Dimension 9200 - see config below. Before chucking it, I want to explore the merits of breathing new life into this pc with an bootable SSD drive and WIndows 8.1 Pro 64 bit
Can it handle it for non-gaming, non-rendering, HTPC-type use??? It would be mailnly acting as client to access (perhaps running XBMC), and ideally, if I can, to stream tv/movies off of the internet ( or on other home pc's).
Windows 8.1 32-bit won't be a problem. It will also support both 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and 8. Windows 7 has an MPEG-2 decoder and Windows Media Center bundled, so you might consider choosing it over 8.1.
I'd recommend the Sapphire 6450 for the GPU upgrade, as it has strong support for HTPC features like streaming video and I can verify its compatibility with old Dells, including the OptiPlex GX620 and 320 and Dimension E310/3100, all of which are as old as your 9200.
I own a Dimension 9200 and am running Windows 8.1 64 bit off an SSD in it. Runs very well. Though I do have a different configuration than what you have in yours (more memory, better processor etc). I believe there are drivers for all the hardware you have though including sound and graphics, that work with Windows 8 / Windows 8.1 . I think the only thing that won't work with Windows 8.1 is the card slot front panel. Unless there is a driver out there I don't know about. Apart from that everything else should work.
According to Wikipedia, your system meets the hardware requirements for XBMC. On the subject of re-usable hardware, the dimension 9200 can take any pci-e graphics card even modern ones (provided the PSU meets the power requirements) which could then be re-used in another PC. If you felt your graphics processing needed a boost.
GPU/PSU - Fair points re GPU card....but the PSU is 375W, so I think that option would mean a new GPU and PSU, so thats not oging to happen. Are there cheap GPUs that work with a 375W power supply? I see the Sapphire HD6450 here : =N82E16814102933 I note it saya 2.1 x16. Is 2.1 compatiable with the 9200??
Yes PCI-e 2 cards are backwards compatible with PCI-e 1 slots in general. And in particular, I have a PCI-e 2 card in my 9200 working absolutely fine, even though it only has a PCI-e 1 slot. You won't get PCI-e 2 transfer speeds but it won't be noticeable on the cards you're thinking of, and considering the rest of the system.
Windows- I was planning to buy Win 8.1 64 bit (Pro or not) in case the 9200 expreiment did not work. Win 7 is fine for the 9200 but wanted to have an 8.1 license if I were to build new. I can always reconsider.
If I recall, I can download a Win 7 SP1 ISO file somewhere ( digital river ??) and then create a bootable USB (using tools like ISO-to-USB), install windows, and have 30 days to activate. So maybe I bite the bullet on:
-memory
-SSD
-sapphire gpu
...and once they all arrive, I attempt a windows 7 install and see how far I get.
If it works >> great, and I can decide then to purchase a Win 7 vs 8.1 key.
If its not great >> I can pull out the SSD, put in old spare hard drive use the machine for guest room - email etc, and use the SDD for the beginning of a new DIY build ( windows, case, motherbaord, fans, cpu, memory, psu, ssd, etc)
Well, the GOOD news is I don't need to buy memory! Popped the case open tonight and I see I upgrade it 7 years ago! (My mom has had the machine all this time). And I have a new SSD in a sealed box. So I 'was' all set to go to fire it up with an SSD and the Win 7 ISO...
The BAD news is....I did a stupid thing and am now paying the price. In my attempt to temporarily secure the SSD beneath the 3.5" bay (havent yet bought an adaptor, I dropped a tiny screw. So its game over for weeks now until I take EVERYTHING part to find it. Never saw that one coming. Its not all obvious where it is. Moved the machine in a million directions- heard it once that was it. So I cannot power up until I find it. Close to an hour I will never get back. I cant really afford to spend weeks looking for it , so when I lose patience, which I will, it really is game over for this option. Too bad. So close!
Had to play with a few bios settings, boot from rear USB ports, reseat and relocate the SSD cable, carefully choose the right partition options (new vs format), give it time to respond ; then it all came together.. I didn't even need a resource disk.
So I quite pleased with the potential off putting this unit to good use. Re win 7 vs 8, the 30 days is exactly what I needed.. if the unit remains this responsive after I load it up. , then I think maybe Win 7 will be a better fit for this this seven yr old machine., especially if I am going to be hiding the interface most of the time with XBMC......and conversely, if HTPC it too taxing, I can simply redploy this box to the guest room, and again Win 7 would be a suitable choice.
Instructions how to evaluate Windows 7 for 30 days using the Digital River .iso with a keyless install is included. In addition the Windows 8.1 Enterprize trial for a 90 day evaluation period. Try both to see how you get along.
Admittedly, I have been living a happy life in Appleland for the past few years and haven't stopped to check out what's been brewing in the PC world. Now that I have been tinkering with the HP Pavilion dv4t laptop that I am going to give away, I was a bit surprised by what it could do and what it was packing. I'll start off with the basics. The dv4t notebook line is aimed at the student crowd. It starts at under 1,000 for the base model and features a glossy 14.1-inch screen.
Fortunately, the model I am going to be giving away is far from the base spec. It boasts 4GB of RAM, a 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Windows Vista Ultimate (if it was mine, I'd wipe it and go with Ubuntu), GeForce 9200M GS graphics, a blu-ray drive, a 320GB Western Digital hard drive and a 250GB Hitachi hard drive expansion if you slide out the blu-ray drive. In addition, the dv4t sports an external Serial-ATA port and HDMI output - pretty spiffy. I've heard of entertainment-oriented notebooks, such as the Voodoo Envy, coming with HDMI and eSATA ports, but not from such a mainstream manufacturer as HP. eSATA makes it very easy to connect a large external disk and retain the speed and minimal overhead of a Serial-ATA connection. The dv4t also packs in a web cam and fingerprint reader.
Aimed at the student slash entertainment crowd means that HP built this computer well-aware that most students use their computer as their only media device. That means it takes the role of TV, internet device and so on. Windows Media Center is at the heart of these functions. When not using the ExpressCard slot, you can stow away a tiny Infrared remote control that can manage Windows Media Center features as well as HP's own "QuickPlay" center, which takes over Blu-ray playback.
I tested the HDMI output by hooking it up to my 50-inch Samsung HDTV and it was recognized quickly. When I tried to play a blu-ray movie through the dv4t I ran into a snag saying that the protected media was not allowed to play on the screen, when I know that my HDTV is HDCP-compliant. Then I made the HDTV the primary screen in the Nvidia settings and it worked.. a bit. I kept getting digital distortion as the blu-ray played. See video below:
Further investigation proved that the dv4t created such distortion even when not connected to any other display. I only own one blu-ray disc so it's hard for me to tell if this is a disc issue or a dv4t issue.
The biggest drawback of the dv4t is the trackpad. It is impossible to use. It has a slick, fingerprint-loving surface that almost feels sticky. The small trackpad gets in the way of typing and often auto-scrolls when my thumb touches it a little bit. To combat this oft-occurring mishap, they included a button right above the trackpad that allows users to turn the trackpad off when not needed. Couldn't they written a smart driver that detects accidental touches? My MacBook Air never has an issue like this and it's trackpad is so huge that part of my palm always rests on it when I'm typing.
Other than that, the recessed keyboard works well. Keys have a bit more travel than a MacBook's keys and seem to require a bit more force to activate, but not by much. The headphones jack is appropriately placed in the front of the laptop, albeit directly under where your right wrist usually rests.
The removable drive bay is by far the best feature of the dv4t. Don't need a blu-ray drive right now? Swap it out for a few hundred gigabytes with a hard drive expansion. Don't need anything and would rather have a lighter laptop? No problem, just put in the filler slot.
One last nitpick I have with the dv4t deals with the display bezel. It's extremely reflective. I have no complaints about the glossy display itself; it's a great choice for a media PC with vivid colors and truer blacks. However, the reflective bezel is quite distracting.
A cold boot takes a whopping 3 minutes and 36 seconds. This is definitely a mixture of Vista being a resource hog and the default configuration of the dv4t launching a lot of taskbar applications. Shutdown takes only 29 seconds.
Finally, there are the integrated Altec Lansing stereo speakers. They're good, for a laptop. Considerably louder than my single-speaker MacBook Air (although that doesn't say much), they can fill a small dorm room with sound and pump out enough punch to vibrate the laptop itself. However, at the highest setting the speakers lose all clarity and a considerable amount of noise is introduced while mids are washed out. That being said, there did come a time while watching a blu-ray movie that I kept raising the volume only to find out that they were already on the highest setting.
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